Ken Sell

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Ken Sell is the Head of Aoba-Japan International School in Japan and is presently engaged in a school based project designed to support the Japanese national education system reform agenda. He is an adjunct of Southern Cross University. Having previously held educational leadership positions in Australia, Norway and China, Ken’s research is informed by his innovate approaches to leadership and the building of professional capital in schools. Starting with his work for Central Queensland University (CQU), where he developed the unique Noosa Hub’s Master of Learning Management program, he has continued to investigate and publish research and articles related to the practical application of investing in ‘teachers as researchers’, ‘receptive accountability’ and ‘professional capital’ in schools. As a reflective practitioner, who has worked in diverse educational settings, Ken has dedicated his career to supporting school and teacher transformation.

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Karen o'Neill

Ken Sell

Southern Cross University

Paul Fradale

David Lynch

Southern Cross University

Tina Doe

Auli Toom

University of Helsinki

Lisa Vinnicombe

Jake Madden

Stefania Capogna

Link Campus University

Heimo Mikkola

University of Eastern Finland

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Papers by Ken Sell

Receptive Accountability and Professional Capital: An examination of teachers’ perceptions in an international school

This paper is concerned with how building professional capital in a school assists a positive cha... more This paper is concerned with how building professional capital in a school assists a positive change in the teacher’s perceptions of themselves and their work environment as a result of addressing school dysfunctionality over time. It examines teachers’ perceptions related to the growth of the school’s professional capital. This qualitative research examines the responses in two surveys that were completed by a small sample of teachers. By applying development research methodology (OECD, 2002), supported by the use of qualitative data analysis software, an open coding approach enabled rich descriptions and the identification of distinctive and conceptually interdependent categories, themes and trends. This examination found that the vast majority of teachers perceived there to be growth of professional capital over time. An analysis of data indicates that the focus on building professional capital assisted a positive change in teachers’ perceptions about their a professional disposi...

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Towards a Strategic Blend in Education: A review of the blended learning literature

How might schools harness technological innovation for classroom effects? In this book the author... more How might schools harness technological innovation for classroom effects? In this book the authors seek to answer this question by introducing and investigating the concept of Blended Learning through a review of current research literature. In this book, the authors consolidate the current state of Blended Learning research, by defining what is meant by Blended Learning before discussing specific technologies used in Blended Learning, the professional development required of teachers and how to implement whole of school Blended Learning regimes in schools. The book includes descriptions of popular Blended Learning models with real-world examples of their implementation, addressing both student and teacher perspectives. This book will serve as a guide to hastening the progress of Blended Learning towards the improvement of student outcomes in a world of continuous technological innovation and social change.

Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

Unpacking the effective school leader

Cummins, 2013) that the 'school leader' (the principal or Head) remains the most influential forc... more Cummins, 2013) that the 'school leader' (the principal or Head) remains the most influential force in optimising schooling outcomes and in bringing about the required circumstances for school improvement agendas. Compared to the past a contemporary school leader is required to navigate and work within multifaceted and increasingly complex contexts (Markow, Marcia, & Lee, 2013; Mulford, 2008). To maximise effectiveness in the multi-dimensional school environment Fullan (2014) posits an effective school leader requires a repertoire of skills the acumen to synchronously act as an agent of change able to move people, a leader of learning able to model and shape conditions for learning and be a systems player able to benefit from and contribute to systems improvement (p.3). In summary, an effective leader is someone who is able to "pull all the pieces together and not leave anyone working in isolation" (Harvey et al., 2013 p.22). So, what constitutes effective school leadership? In this article, educational researchers, experienced school leaders and education practitioners share their insights into school leadership. These insights culminate the 2016 Tokyo International Education Conference (IJICC, 2016) themed on Global Leadership. To explore such a question, the authors have chosen five elements for discussion. These themes centre around leaders embracing a moral purpose and creating conditions for change; leading learning in the school; the changing role of leadership in a complex and multi-facetted context and finally leading collaboration of all stakeholders. This detailing provides a foundation for the exploration of school leadership from the perspective of all stakeholders. 1. Embracing of a Moral Purpose A deeply considered moral purpose informs leaders and teachers who wish to effect sustainable change in their schools (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). Communicated clearly, consistently, and inclusively, a moral purpose becomes a guide for the stakeholders of a community to reference and evaluate their decisions and actions. Fields (2007) points out that when leaders articulate and

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Using blended learning to support whole-of-school improvement: The need for contextualisation

Education and Information Technologies

This article reports on findings from the application of BL to a school improvement project invol... more This article reports on findings from the application of BL to a school improvement project involving two K-12 international schools in Japan. These findings relate to six research questions concerning how involvement with this project impacted teachers’ ICT confidence, how change management was perceived for the project, how this project sought to repurpose teaching and learning arrangements, how the project was aligned with the mission and goals of the schools’ improvement agenda, how it affected student achievement and how it was contextualised as a particular response to the imperatives of the Knowledge Economy. The implications of these findings are that successful BL implementation requires an involved and consistent leadership team, specific teacher training to build confidence, a means of directing the repurposing elements of teaching and learning, being able to evaluate alignment between the implementation of BL and school improvement, dedicated achievement measures for student learning and some way of being able to position the purpose and function of applied BL in relation to the Knowledge Economy. A key recommendation of the report is that schools need to intentionally contextualise BL in order to maximise its success. Suggestions concerning how to do this are provided.

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation. Primrose Hall: Brisbane

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Leading School Improvement: A focus on the work of the school leader

This book is about leading school improvement in an era of constant change. Ken Sell, David Lynch... more This book is about leading school improvement in an era of constant change. Ken Sell, David Lynch and Tina Doe, three accomplished and published experts in the field of education, bring together leading education researchers and school leaders to create a collection of chapters which focus on key aspects of effective school leadership. The book explores a model for whole of school improvement and examines key concepts such as; readiness for change, approaches to leadership, how to use data, parental engagement, as well as providing insights into aspects of school and teaching in to the future.

Towards an effective model for whole of school blended learning: a conceptual paper

Over the course of the past decade, governments across the globe, together with their respective ... more Over the course of the past decade, governments across the globe, together with their respective education systems have grappled with changes in society that are unprecedented in modern human history. In this paper, the authors detail the plans of a school that seeks to come to terms with such a circumstance by introducing a school-wide approach to teaching and learning through Blended Learning. In effect, the school seeks to refocus its curriculum and its delivery mechanisms, the &#39;look and feel&#39; of the school and its classrooms, the work of its teachers, and the study modus operandi of students to graduate young people who embody the traits required for such a changed world. The paper examines in detail the underpinning conceptual Blended Learning model, its associated elements and the disruptive agenda that this whole of school initiative represents for schools and education more generally.

New Persons: Understanding Diversity and Using Similarities to Create Culturally Congenial Classroom of the Future

Receptive Accountability: A case study in teacher professional development based on collaboration and incentives

Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something tha... more Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something that effective teachers d; that is continuously develop professionally. Hargreaves and Fullan claim that when we think of the word professional it calls to mind two things: being professional and being a professional (2012, p. 80). In teaching, being professional relates to the actions and behaviours of the teacher and being a professional relates to how the tecaher is perceived by others and how they perceive themselves. This paper is about Norwegian international school’s attempt to build professionalism within the workforce. More specifically, this paper deals with an innovative tecaher incentive scheme as one of many reform initiatives designed to transform a workforce that was often perceived by others as politically divided, unorganized and disengaged. The Staff Recognition Incentive Scheme (SRIS) was developed as part of the school’s collective workplace agreement and was designed to...

Teaching Innovations Supporting Student Outcomes in the 21 st Century, 2013 B Receptive Accountability: A case study in teacher professional development based on collaboration and incentives

Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something tha... more Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something that effective teachers d; that is continuously develop professionally. Hargreaves and Fullan claim that when we think of the word professional it calls to mind two things: being professional and being a professional (2012, p. 80). In teaching, being professional relates to the actions and behaviours of the teacher and being a professional relates to how the tecaher is perceived by others and how they perceive themselves. This paper is about Norwegian international school's attempt to build professionalism within the workforce. More specifically, this paper deals with an innovative tecaher incentive scheme as one of many reform initiatives designed to transform a workforce that was often perceived by others as politically divided, unorganized and disengaged. The Staff Recognition Incentive Scheme (SRIS) was developed as part of the school's collective workplace agreement and was des...

Receptive Accountability: Guiding the growth of teacher professionalism in an international school

ABSTRACT This Article describes a case study and presents findings on teacher&amp;#39;s chang... more ABSTRACT This Article describes a case study and presents findings on teacher&amp;#39;s changing perceptions of their professional identity in an international school. The purpose of the research was to identify whether planned spaces for teacher learning contributed to a change in the school&amp;#39;s dysfunctional teacher work conditions. Analysis and findings demonstrate that there is an association between providing planned, sequenced and organised teacher professional learning spaces and a perceived growth in teacher professionalism. Our understanding of how receptive accountability when used to guide the design and implementation of learning spaces for teachers provides the working conditions that can enable the teacher to actively participate in strengthening their professional identity and the implications this has for school leadership are considered.

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

ABSTRACT ... that the greatest and most important difficulty of human science is the education of... more ABSTRACT ... that the greatest and most important difficulty of human science is the education of children. (Michel de Montaigne, 1575) This paper is about school reform. More specifically it deals with the transformation of an international school in Norway through a process focused on what the school principal conceived as receptive accountability.

The ‘Teacher as Researcher’ Premise

ABSTRACT The ‘teacher as researcher’ premise is being strengthened by the development of new syst... more ABSTRACT The ‘teacher as researcher’ premise is being strengthened by the development of new systems for teaching and learning and by new understandings about how teachers best learn. Our view is that the coupling of this phenomenon with teachers engaging in research on their teaching practice is a powerful organising element for schools dealing with change in the 21st Century. This chapter highlights the teacher’s increasing role in the development of educational knowledge for today’s classrooms

Teachers as Researchers: Case studies in educational research

ABSTRACT What does it mean to be a ‘teacher researcher’? This book explores this question by show... more ABSTRACT What does it mean to be a ‘teacher researcher’? This book explores this question by showcasing examples of what teachers are doing when they act as a teacher researcher. While classroom teachers have always collected information and read to improve their teaching knowledge the concept of ‘teacher as researcher’, in the traditional researcher sense, is a relatively new concept in schools and classrooms. This book showcases how teachers from across the globe are contributing to the field of educational knowledge by acting as a ‘teacher researcher’. The central premise of this book is that when teachers act as a teacher researcher they engage in a powerful professional development strategy: one that increases their individual and collective teaching capacities, which in turn, engages them in school reforms and innovations which enable teachers to deal with short and long term educational challenges

The ‘Teacher as Researcher’ Premise

The ‘teacher as researcher’ premise is being strengthened by the development of new systems for t... more The ‘teacher as researcher’ premise is being strengthened by the development of new systems for teaching and learning and by new understandings about how teachers best learn. Our view is that the coupling of this phenomenon with teachers engaging in research on their teaching practice is a powerful organising element for schools dealing with change in the 21st Century. This chapter highlights the teacher’s increasing role in the development of educational knowledge for today’s classrooms

Receptive Accountability: Guiding the growth of teacher professionalism in an international school

This Article describes a case study and presents findings on teacher's changing perceptions o... more This Article describes a case study and presents findings on teacher's changing perceptions of their professional identity in an international school. The purpose of the research was to identify whether planned spaces for teacher learning contributed to a change in the school's dysfunctional teacher work conditions. Analysis and findings demonstrate that there is an association between providing planned, sequenced and organised teacher professional learning spaces and a perceived growth in teacher professionalism. Our understanding of how receptive accountability when used to guide the design and implementation of learning spaces for teachers provides the working conditions that can enable the teacher to actively participate in strengthening their professional identity and the implications this has for school leadership are considered.

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

... that the greatest and most important difficulty of human science is the education of children... more ... that the greatest and most important difficulty of human science is the education of children. (Michel de Montaigne, 1575) This paper is about school reform. More specifically it deals with the transformation of an international school in Norway through a process focused on what the school principal conceived as receptive accountability.

Teachers as Researchers: Case studies in educational research

What does it mean to be a ‘teacher researcher’? This book explores this question by showcasing ex... more What does it mean to be a ‘teacher researcher’? This book explores this question by showcasing examples of what teachers are doing when they act as a teacher researcher. While classroom teachers have always collected information and read to improve their teaching knowledge the concept of ‘teacher as researcher’, in the traditional researcher sense, is a relatively new concept in schools and classrooms. This book showcases how teachers from across the globe are contributing to the field of educational knowledge by acting as a ‘teacher researcher’. The central premise of this book is that when teachers act as a teacher researcher they engage in a powerful professional development strategy: one that increases their individual and collective teaching capacities, which in turn, engages them in school reforms and innovations which enable teachers to deal with short and long term educational challenges

Teachers as Researchers: The impact of a partnership innovation

Creativity and Innovation Management

Over the last several decades the professional context within schools has changed (Hargreaves and... more Over the last several decades the professional context within schools has changed (Hargreaves and Fullan 2012 ) compelling employers to provide professional learning and development programs that assist the school workforce to adjust accordingly (Leithwood 2006, Schleicher 2012). This paper provides a summary of an evaluation study that investigated the impact an innovative professional learning program had on teachers, the workplace and the state education system.

Receptive Accountability and Professional Capital: An examination of teachers’ perceptions in an international school

Download

Towards a Strategic Blend in Education: A review of the blended learning literature

Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

Unpacking the effective school leader

Download

Using blended learning to support whole-of-school improvement: The need for contextualisation

Education and Information Technologies

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation. Primrose Hall: Brisbane

Download

Leading School Improvement: A focus on the work of the school leader

Towards an effective model for whole of school blended learning: a conceptual paper

New Persons: Understanding Diversity and Using Similarities to Create Culturally Congenial Classroom of the Future

Receptive Accountability: A case study in teacher professional development based on collaboration and incentives

Teaching Innovations Supporting Student Outcomes in the 21 st Century, 2013 B Receptive Accountability: A case study in teacher professional development based on collaboration and incentives

Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something tha... more Professional development is not something that happens to effective teachers, it is something that effective teachers d; that is continuously develop professionally. Hargreaves and Fullan claim that when we think of the word professional it calls to mind two things: being professional and being a professional (2012, p. 80). In teaching, being professional relates to the actions and behaviours of the teacher and being a professional relates to how the tecaher is perceived by others and how they perceive themselves. This paper is about Norwegian international school's attempt to build professionalism within the workforce. More specifically, this paper deals with an innovative tecaher incentive scheme as one of many reform initiatives designed to transform a workforce that was often perceived by others as politically divided, unorganized and disengaged. The Staff Recognition Incentive Scheme (SRIS) was developed as part of the school's collective workplace agreement and was des...

Receptive Accountability: Guiding the growth of teacher professionalism in an international school

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

The ‘Teacher as Researcher’ Premise

Teachers as Researchers: Case studies in educational research

The ‘Teacher as Researcher’ Premise

Receptive Accountability: Guiding the growth of teacher professionalism in an international school

Case Studies in Education: Leadership and Innovation Receptive Accountability Supporting a systems approach to an international school reform

Teachers as Researchers: Case studies in educational research

Teachers as Researchers: The impact of a partnership innovation

Creativity and Innovation Management

Ken Sell

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